Prison on Fire

...and soon enough, like any situation where the pressure does nothing but build, it'll explode.

Chow Yun-Fat plays Chung Tin Ching, a prisoner on a manslaughter charge, who befriends a harmless, naive twig of a man named Yiu, also on a manslaughter term. At first, he's a nuisance, but as he sees just how useless Yiu is in his situation, he can't help but step in when Yiu's blunders aggravates the wrong people. Friendship blossoms, and then the two of them must fend for themselves and each other against the cruel warden, Officer Hung, and Hung's obnoxious rat. The situation intensifies... it escalates... and when it finally explodes, it is intense, emotional, and effective.

I've seen six of Ringo Lam's films now, the other four being Prison on Fire II (right after I saw this one), City on Fire, Full Contact, and two of his Van Damme vehicles, and Prison on Fire is definitely the second-best film I've seen from him so far. It's nothing original, and the villains are a little cartoonish at times, but for the most part, it's a great movie, and definitely among the best of Chow and Lam.

Oddly enough I haven't seen "Prison On Fire" (aka "Gam yuk fung wan") from 1987 before now in 2020. I happened to get the chance to sit down and watch parts I and II, and being a big fan of the Hong Kong cinema, of course I did so.

And the fact that it had Chow Yun Fat and Tony Ka Fai Leung on the cast list, of course helped sweeten the deal.

While writer Yin Nam and director Ringo Lam definitely were on to something unique with "Prison On Fire", it just felt that the movie was lacking that particular something to make it truly outstanding. Perhaps it was the fact that the storyline felt a bit too scripted and predictable, or because oddly enough not a single police officer in the prison facility had a firearm.

"Prison On Fire" is a good prison movie, but it just feels like director Ringo Lam was cushioning the movie a bit, not making it fully as rough and gritty as it deserved to be.

Aside from Chow Yun Fat and Tony Ka Fai Leung, the movie does have a good cast ensemble of actors to help bring the movie to life on the screen.

This is definitely an enjoyable movie and one that is well-worth the time to sit down and watch. My rating of "Prison On Fire" is a six out of ten stars. I was genuinely entertained by what transpired on the screen.

I first watched this movie when I was rather young. After 13 years, I've just re-watched it. Still a brilliant piece of work. Often, I'd be bored watching old films which I had thought the world of. But this movie still amazes and excites me after so many years.

I am sure the more violent scenes were cut from the version I watched, because I vaguely remember moments that were a lot more shocking. But I would't classify it as a "violent" movie, because there was a lot of meaning to it. If I as an elementary school child could take it, it shouldn't be any more gruesome than The Ring 2.

Simply watching Chow Yun Fatt was a treat in itself. His acting was intriguing and absolutely intense. Never did a moment pass that he wasn't giving in his best. The smiles and the stares, the jokes and the scorn, the singing and the scolding... and who would forget his orange with 3 cigarettes? No kid from a chinese-speaking family doesn't remember this classic arrangement.

Tony Leung, another great actor, could be seen shining in his own right. Although much of the glamour belonged to Chow Yun Fatt, Tony Leung's performance in the suicide scene, and the sheer ignorance in his eyes as he incurred the wrath of just about everyone, were truly commendable. He was the "stupid little lamb" in the film.

Watch this film, and you'd find "Anna and the King" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" terrible jokes. I still can't believe Chow Yun Fatt starred in these 2 films. From an Asian's point of view, his recent Hollywood films were disappointing. His roles in these new films were a far cry from his memorable performances in "The Story of Ah Lang", "A Better Tomorrow" and this film. Special effects can't be everything in a movie. Realism is more important.

And don't walk away without learning how to sing the prisoners' favourite song! *Yian sum yu sei shueang yao do siu...*

Tony Leung stars as Yiu, who has been jailed for manslaughter. Chow Yun Fat stars as Ching, another prisoner also jailed for manslaughter. Ching is a good-natured prisoner who tries to make the best of his situation, and helps naive Yiu out.

It's a familiar story of the savagery of prison life, as Yiu & Ching must deal with intra-prison triads and a sadistic warden.

The pressure of these elements pushes them to the edge, and by the end of the movie, Ching & Yiu completely lose it. This is a very violent and uncomfortable movie to watch. The storyline doesn't make any profound social observations. But Chow Yun Fat's acting is very intense: he really turns into a bug-eyed wild animal. And Tony Leung is good as a man who would easily fall apart in such an environment if not for Ching's support.

The movie also has other Ringo Lam regulars like Tommy Wong & Roy Cheung (playing Billy & Officer Hung, respectively.)

This is a brutal portrayal of Hong Kong big-house life in Cantonese language. It concerns about a naive innocent(Tony Leung Ka Fair,The lover) who has been framed by accidental homicide and unjustly imprisoned behind bars. A mobster sets him up against other inmates and he's accused as informer. He becomes friend with a tough but sympathetic inmate(Chow Yun Fat,Better tomorrow) fighting Chinenes triads and against a cruel warden nicknamed scarface(Roy Cheung). The protagonists, each other, developing a fraternal friendship against their enemies and get involved with the unjust prison system commanded by nasties wardens.

The picture packs thriller, bloodshed, drama and lots of violence. Every prison clichés are exposed, including riots, fighting, abuse, evil security wardens, among others. The film contains a strong prison-drama in the wake of ¨Midnight express¨ with essentially the same argument but also displays touching images, such as the lyrical Christmas dance sequence and the emotive relationship between the two leading characters. This is the second and the best installment into ¨On fire ¨ trilogy , the first is titled ¨City on fire¨ and the third titled ¨ Prison on fire 2¨ where Ching again in prison troubled by an ongoing battle between local inmates and those from Mainland China. The trilogy is well directed by Ringo Lam. He's a nice Chinese director, filmmaker for Jackie Chan(Double dragon)and was hired in US for Jean Claude Van Damme vehicles(In hell, Replicant, Maximum risk), but nowadays he has returned Hong Kong for directing his usual Chop-Socky movies. Rating : Good and entertaining, the motion picture will like to Hong Kong movies enthusiastic and Chow Yun Fat fans.